Chapter 325: The Uncrowned King, Shi Xie's Submission On August 15th of the fifth year of Jian'an, which was the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhou Yu's fleet arrived in Jiaozhi County. Of course, Mid-Autumn Festival was not considered a festival in the Han Dynasty, and there was no custom of appreciating the moon. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and became a major festival only in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Of course, just because it’s not a festival doesn’t mean there are no customs. As the “Book of Zhou” says: “In the autumn evening, the moon is set in the setting sun”, which means worshiping the moon god. Since the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, people would offer sacrifices to the moon and welcome the cold, and set up a large incense table. Zhou Yu was far away in Jiaozhi, so naturally he did not have the conditions to do so, or rather, he did not have the intention to do so. After arriving in Jiaozhi County, he sent an envoy, Long Bian, to explain his purpose. Shi Xie was 62 years old at the time and had already served in Jiaozhi for 12 years. Because this man was generous and magnanimous, hundreds of scholars from the Central Plains came to join him.

Now he has Yuan Hui, Cheng Bing, Mou Zi, Huan Ye and others under his command, and Jiaozhou is a place full of talented people. Faced with the sudden arrival of Liu Bei's army, he called everyone together and asked: "I heard that Liu Bei's generals Zhou Yu and Gan Ning are leading their troops to question me." "I will not ask what crime General Zhang has committed for the moment, but I wonder if you know what kind of person Liu Bei is?" "Who is Qin Zhen under his command? How could he have such a strong army?" In fact, until now, the news of Liu Bei's capture of Jiangdong has not yet reached Jiaozhi. Shi Xie only knew that Cao Cao of the Central Plains supported the emperor, and that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were both prominent families. As for where Liu Bei came from, he had almost no idea. So seeing Liu Bei's strong army, he is still in a state of confusion. As soon as he asked the question, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Only Yuan Hui stepped out and bowed, saying: "Your Excellency, Liu Bei is a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan and a relative of the current Han Dynasty." "This person who looks like Zhou Yu is a general of Sun Bofu of Jiangdong. Last year, Liu Bei attacked and killed Sun Bofu, and this person joined Liu Bei's army!" As he spoke, he told Shi Xie the story of Liu Bei's rise in the Central Plains. This also includes Qin Zhen's defection from Cao Cao to Liu Bei and his planning for the Central Plains. Speaking of Yuan Hui, he is not very famous in history, but he has a close relationship with Liu Bei's army. Because he was the cousin of Yuan Huan, an important official under Liu Bei, and the younger brother of Yuan Ba, an important official under Guan Yu. When Dong Zhuo entered the capital and the world was in chaos, Yuan Huan discussed with his brothers how to protect themselves. His brothers each had their own ambitions, but only Yuan Hui was certain that the Han Dynasty would perish due to the decline of justice. Faced with the impending chaos in the world, he fled to Jiaozhi in order to protect himself. He received respect from Shi Xie here and settled down there, with no intention of going north again. But they were brothers after all, and although the distance between them was far, they still kept in touch.

After Yuan Huan joined Liu Bei's army, he wrote a letter to inform Yuan Hui of his situation. In addition, his brother Yuan Ba ​​is currently the captain of the military farm under Guan Yu, so he knows Liu Bei's army very well. After explaining this, he gave Shi Xie some more advice: "Liu Bei is a descendant of the former Han Dynasty. He has a lot of style like Emperor Gaozu and is very famous in the Central Plains." "Now that they are marching into Jiaozhou, their ambitions are clear. Sooner or later, they will become kings and hegemons!" "How to deal with them should be up to your will. If you wish to respect the emperor, you should be afraid of him." "If you want to take advantage of Yuan Cong's achievements, you should welcome his army, offer Jiaozhi, and help him attack Zhangjin!" When Shi Xie heard what Yuan Hui said, he could not help but stroke his beard and admire, looking around at everyone and said: "We live in remote places and never knew there was such a hero in the world!" "Liu Xuande is a relative of the Han Dynasty. Now that the Han Dynasty is in decline, the emergence of this man shows that the Han Dynasty should not be destroyed." "I heard that the emperor is young and has no martial arts skills, and power will surely fall into the hands of others in the future." "Rather than letting traitors usurp power, it is better to return it to the Liu family and let the justice of heaven prevail." "Since their troops have arrived, I do not want to resist them, and I also want to avoid this place from suffering from war. What do you think?" Seeing that he was wholeheartedly concerned about the people, everyone praised Shi Xie's virtue. Immediately, under the leadership of Shi Xie, they headed out of the mansion, ready to meet Zhou Yu's troops. But as soon as they left the palace, they saw Shi Zhi and Shi Hui leading a large number of foreign soldiers. Shi Xie had five sons in total: the eldest son Shi Xin, the second son Shi Zhi, the third son Shi Hui, the fourth son Shi Gan, and the fifth son Shi Song. Among all the sons, only the brothers Shi Zhi and Shi Hui were interested in military affairs and enjoyed practicing martial arts. When Shi Xie saw the two sons leading their troops, he frowned and asked: "Why are you leading troops here instead of going to duty outside the city? What do you want to do?" When the two men saw this, Shi Zhi bowed his head and said nothing, and Shi Hui said; "I heard that there are enemy troops coming here from the sea, so I led my troops to fight them." "Father, please give the order. I will send troops to defeat the enemy!" Seeing him act so recklessly, Shi Xie became angry and asked: "Only our Han army is on the sea, there is no enemy army. Do you want to destroy our Shi clan?" "Quickly leave with me and stop talking nonsense here." As soon as he shouted and scolded, Shi Zhi stopped fighting, but Shi Hui was unwilling to give in and said: "What do they mean by Liu Bei? We only know the emperor Cao Gong, but we have never heard of Liu Bei!" "Even if Envoy Zhang is guilty, Liu Bei shouldn't send troops here!" "Now they have sent troops here without asking. Their intention is clear. They are determined to seize our Shi family's foundation!" "If they are not enemies, who else can be the enemy?" "I dare to ask my father to give the order. I am willing to be the vanguard and lead the army to defeat the enemy!"

Seeing that he was so overestimating his own abilities, Shi Xie couldn't help but laugh and said: "How can you know the heroes of the world? The enemies you are facing are just barbarians. How can you know the bravery of the Han army?" "Don't even mention your troops. Even if we use up all the troops in Jiaozhou, we may not be able to defeat him!" "You have only led the army for a few years, yet you are so bold and reckless." "If you were to take charge in the future, my Shi clan would be wiped out here!" "Come here, help me capture this boy and confine him to the palace for a month!" Although Shi Xie was old, he still held great power in Jiaozhi. As soon as he spoke, several Yue soldiers under his command came forward and held Shi Hui down. When everyone saw this, they tried to persuade him to stop, but Shi Xie refused to listen and allowed his son to be taken into the mansion by everyone. After finishing all this, he sent an envoy to invite Zhou Yu to come ashore, and prepared to drive to Quyang in person to greet him. After three days, the two armies gathered in Quyang in Jiaozhi. After the two sides exchanged greetings, Shi Xie looked at the elite soldiers under Liu Bei's army and said to Zhou Yu with a smile: "Xie studied in the Central Plains in his early years, and once entered the capital and met the imperial guards." "From what I can see now, your army is as strong as the one that defended the capital in the past." "If such a royal army can enter Jiaozhi, the people of Jiaozhi can see the power of the royal army!" Although his attitude was humble, Zhou Yu did not dare to look down on him and immediately smiled and said: "Your Excellency is exaggerating. I have long heard that your Excellency is well-educated and well-versed in governing the country and the people." "Although it is located in a remote area, it has protected the country's territory for more than ten years. There is no war on the border and the people are not unemployed. It is truly a good policy." "Compared with such good governance, we are nothing more than a bunch of corrupt officials. We don't deserve to boast like this!" "I'm sure you know why we're here this time. Would you be willing to help us get rid of the thieves?" Naturally, he did not come this time to chat with Shi Xie, but to ask Shi Xie to send troops. Now Qin Zhen is marching towards Cangwu. Zhang Jin cannot resist and may flee to Yulin County. Although he had never been to Yulin County, he knew that Yulin County was full of deep mountains and dense forests. In the past, Qin Shi Huang ordered his army to march south, but a large number of soldiers and horses were lost just in these deep mountains and dense forests. So he had only one purpose, which was to see Shi Xie's attitude and then persuade Shi Xie to block Zhang Jin's retreat. So he specifically emphasized Zhang Jin's identity as a villain, wanting to see Shi Xie's attitude. If Shi Xie objected, things would be bumpy; if Shi Xie agreed, Jiaozhou would basically be a sure thing. Shi Xie was an old and experienced man, so he knew what Zhou Yu meant. He immediately stroked his beard and sighed: "I am an old friend of Zhang Mu, so I submitted a petition to the court to be appointed as the governor of Jiaozhou." "I didn't expect Zhang Mu to act so perversely and even collude with foreign tribes to cause chaos." "Although I do not like military campaigns, I will defend this place on behalf of the emperor." "Now that we see this chaos, we must do our utmost to put an end to it, even if it means death."

"General, rest assured. I will raise an army to help you today. I will send my son to Yulin." "The general took my handwritten letter to Hepu and asked my second brother to lead the troops north." "With the combined attack from both directions and your army's support, we will surely be able to capture the thief!" When Zhou Yu heard that Shi Xie was preparing to send troops from two directions to help, he was shocked. In fact, he did not expect Shi Xie to really send troops to help him when he came this time. After all, although Shi Xie, as the governor of Jiaozhi County, was still under the command of Zhang Jin, his nature was similar to that of Gongsun Du of Liaodong. He could completely establish his own regime and make his own decisions like Gongsun Du did. But he didn't expect that Shi Xie not only didn't say a word, but also cooperated in sending troops. Obviously, this old man's level is much higher than that of ordinary people! Doing this now will not only not harm the Shi family, but Liu Bei will also see that Shi Xie is so sensible and will definitely continue to employ Shi Xie in the future. This would not only help Shi Xie keep Jiaozhi, but also open up a path for the Shi family to rise. However, many people cannot be as insightful as Shi Xie. Just for this reason, it is no wonder that Shi Xie has been able to keep this place for so many years! While thinking, Zhou Yu smiled and grabbed Shi Xie's hand and said: "Your Excellency is indeed a virtuous and reputable ruler. It is a blessing for the people of Jiaozhi that you are allowed to rule this place!" "Since the Lord of the Mansion agrees to send troops, why not write a handwritten letter?" "I will go north first to join forces with your brother to fight. This way, we can defeat the bandits as soon as possible and put an end to the war as soon as possible, so that the people will not suffer." "This may be a bit hasty, what do you think, Lord?" Shi Xie was a decisive man. Seeing that Zhou Yu was about to write a letter on the spot, he no longer hesitated and immediately wrote a letter and handed it to Zhou Yu. Seeing this, Zhou Yu nodded secretly again, thinking that this man was indeed a hero. If I weren't so old now, I might have achieved great success! He immediately took the letter, rejected Shi Xie's invitation, and led his troops directly towards the seaside. Shi Xie looked at Zhou Yu's non-stop appearance and could not help but sigh to everyone: "If all the ministers in the world were as dedicated as you, how could our Han Dynasty be in such chaos?" "With such a talent under Liu Zhengdong's command, the Han Dynasty will surely prosper!" Having said this, he led his ministers back to Longbian. At the same time, he ordered his eldest son Shi Xin and his younger brother Shi Wu to lead thousands of troops north and sent envoys under his command to persuade many tribes in Yulin along the way. As soon as Shi Xie's envoy arrived, the Baiyue people in Yulin occupied the strategic locations one after another. On August 22, Zhou Yu's envoy arrived in Hepu with a letter. After reading Shi Xie's letter, Shi Yi led 5,000 soldiers and horses north. For a time, the entire Jiaozhou area surrendered to Liu Bei's army. Zhang Jin was the governor of Jiaozhou, but Cangwu was the only place he had left.

(End of this chapter)